Posts Tagged ‘ACE FREHLEY’

TOMMY THAYER

INTERVIEW AND PICTURES BY MARKO SYRJÄLÄ

Tommy Thayer has been playing with KISS for years but for many he’s still “the new member” in the band. Thayer replaced original guitarist Ace Frehley in 2002 and since then he’s been playing the “Spaceman” character in the band. Thayer has been a member of KISS for over eight years now but he’s actually been working with KISS or some its members in many different occasions starting already in the late 80’s. Thayer’s old band Black’n Blue was working with Gene Simmons as their producer and since the band eventually broke up in 1989 Thayer’s been very close to KISS camp. Although the original KISS have been gone for years, Eric Singer has replaced Peter Criss and plays the “Catman” character, the band is still going on strong and they keep on doing successful tours and performing in front of massive crowds around the globe. The current lineup released its first studio album titled SONIC BOOM on last year it has become another success story in their long history. Two years ago KISS did one of its most successful tours in history titled “Alive 35” and now they finally came back for more with their brand new “Sonic Boom over Europe” tour. The circus arrived in Malmo in early June and then I had a chance to sit down with Tommy and get some recent info from the “Spaceman” himself.

KISS

May 5th 2010

Echo Arena, Liverpool, U.K

REVIEW AND PICTURES BY MARKO SYRJÄLÄ

It’s been two years since KISS finished their highly successful Alive 35 -tour in Europe. Last year the band released a brand new studio album SONIC BOOM, their first in eleven years, and now the band brings their rock’n roll circus back here under the banner SONIC BOOM OVER EUROPE : FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE BOOM. The new tour started just under a week ago from Sheffield and now it was time to check out how the”Hottest Band In The World” rocked in Liverpool.

PAUL STANLEY

KISS returns to Europe in the spring with their massive SONIC BOOM OVER EUROPE tour after two years on the road with their mega successful ALIVE 35 tour. The new tour is a part of the band’s world tour to support their latest studio disc SONIC BOOM which was released last August. In Early February the band did a series of press conferences in Europe. They first spent a couple of days in Germany and then later on two days in the U.K to promote their forthcoming tour. In London we had an amazing chance to interview Kiss’lead vocalist/guitarist and founding member Paul Stanley. Topics covered included the upcoming tour and the latest album but some other interesting information as well… read on.

Reviewed and live pictures by: Anders Sandvall

ANTHONY ESPOSITO

INTERVIEW BY MARKO SYRJÄLÄ AND JARNO HUOVILA

LIVE PICTURES BY MARKO SYRJÄLÄ

The legendary Space Ace Frehley, of KISS fame, finally returned to Europe, after almost a decade, and unleashed his first solo shows in the UK in twenty years. At his shows in Sheffield and London, Ace rocked in front of sold out crowds of fans from all over Britain and Europe. Present were all the hallmarks fans could have possibly have wished for, from the career spanning spectacular set list to the smoking guitar. Along with his new band, comprising of Anthony Esposito [ex-Lynch Mob], Scot Coogan [ex-BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION] and Derrek Hawkins, Ace practically brought the house down and proved to any doubters, that he’s back! The day after the band’s spectacular performance at London’s Astoria, we hooked up with Anthony Esposito, Ace’s bass player, to catch up on the latest happenings in Ace World. Read On, Rock Soldiers!

ANTHONY ESPOSITO

INTERVIEW BY MARKO SYRJÄLÄ AND JARNO HUOVILA

LIVE PICTURES BY MARKO SYRJÄLÄ

In the first part of this candid interview, current ACE FREHLEY bass player, Anthony Esposito, spoke about working, touring and recording with Ace during the past 2½ years. This second part concentrates on his career prior to hooking up with the Space Ace.

Anthony Esposito first got to taste success in 1990 when he joined up with George Lynch and Mick Brown of Dokken fame and singer Oni Logan in Lynch Mob and put out the splendid WICKED SENSATION record. The follow up album, a classic rock album featuring new singer Robert Mason was released in 1992 during the zenith of the grunge phenomenon and suffered from the changing musical climate. Other internal factors within the band were also starting to disrupt the momentum. For the past decade Anthony focused primarily on running his own studio in New York City where he produced and engineered such bands as Misfts, New York Dolls and The Ramones. In this second part of the interview Anthony recounts some of his experiences with these great bands and more.

PAUL STANLEY

INTERVIEW AND PICTURES BY MARKO SYRJÄLÄ

TRANSCRIPTION BY JARNO HUOVILA

After a long last Gene “Demon” Simmons and Paul “StarChild” Stanley, the two remaining pillars of the institution that KISS has become, have finally been lured away from their extra-curricular activities (ranging from “reality” television to art galleries and musicals). Along with Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, stand-ins for the legendary “Space” Ace Frehley and “Catman” Peter Criss respectively, they’re now ready to rock the nations once more. With the first leg of the KISS ALIVE 35 -tour in the South Pacific now behind them, next in turn will be the old world, Europe. Paul Stanley was kind enough to shine some light on matters still laying ahead for Kiss and some that, for many, should perhaps remain buried in the past. Even with 35 years worth of history, when it comes to kicking ass live, KISS still have their sights set on the future. Rock on.

ACE FREHLEY

10.04.2008

The Corporation, Sheffield, UK

After leaving KISS in the aftermath of THE ELDER, the ill-conceived and, at the time at least, ill-received concept album, and doing a Euro promo tour for CREATURES OF THE NIGHT -album in 1982 Ace took his time before taking the world by storm with the brilliant first FREHLEY’S COMET record. After a second studio effort by Frehley’s Comet, Ace put out another disc under his own name, titled TROUBLE WALKIN. Many things have changed for Ace since the golden years of the ’80s. After some darker times in the early ’90s Ace finally buried the axe with his old KISS band mates long enough to participate in the enormously successful reunion tour in 1996 after which, in 1998, KISS released their new PSYCHO CIRCUS album. Unfortunately this reunion of the four original members survived only long enough to record one album but they still managed to unleash one last "farewell" tour in 2001. KISS of course is still touring every now and then, sans Ace and Peter Criss, with stand-in players now filling their shoes.

Legendary drummer Eric Singer first rose to fame playing drums on Lita Ford’s DANCIN’ ON THE EDGE tour back in 1984. Subsequently he joined up with Tony Iommi and played on two classic Black Sabbath albums, SEVENTH STAR in 1986 and THE ETERNAL IDOL the following year. Thereupon he toured the world with Gary Moore before reuniting with his old Black Sabbath colleague Ray Gillen in Badlands. In quick succession he hooked up with Alice Cooper for some touring before stepping in to replace the ailing Eric Carr in KISS and proceeding to record the classic REVENGE album in 1992 and the follow up CARNIVAL OF SOULS in 1997 as well as the live albums ALIVE III in 1993 and MTV UNPLUGGED in 1996. More recently he has, in addition to touring with both KISS and Alice Cooper, appeared on Alice’s BRUTAL PLANET album in 2000 and THE EYES OF ALICE COOPER album in 2003. He has also toured and put out albums with ESP (Eric Singer Project) and worked with Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia, Gilby Clarke and that’s not all… read all about it in this forthright interview.